Concrete block molding machine



March 18, 1952 F. E. ASBELL CONCRETEBLOCK MOLDING MACHINE Filed April 1, 1948 INVENTOR ATTORNEY a? m A Patented Mar. 18, 1952 UNITED PATENT OFFICE 2,589,594 I abscess-setter; MOLDING MACHINE i eirisii. Aste11, Arlin'tbmcauf. "Applicationiipril 1, 194's;- Serials-18312 i (01.. e141) The present invention relates; generally to apparatus for the casting ormolding are moldable material, and is more particularly c ncerned with an improved'machine for the making of blocks from cement and similarimaterials.

It is an object of the presentinvention to provide improved apparatus of the c armer described which is of simple and efficint construction containing parts so arrangedthatcement blocks may be cast or molded in a mold having fixed core parts around-which the moldable material is deposited upon a removable pallet. At the conclusion of th e molding operation, the bottom of the mold is so arranges that it may be elevated to carry thmoldedblo'ck" and pallet to the top of the. mold, this action separating the block with relation toIthe core-p'arts and positioning it where it may be readilyg'r'a'sped by the operator and carried on the pallet away from the machine to a curing station.

A further object of the'i vention is1t1prdvme a machine of thischara'cter' which is fabricated as a compact unit which" may be rs'menny s upported on spring members, and which contains .a novel mechanism for imparting vibratory movement to the machine for .compactihgland conforming the 'r'noldab'le material during the melding operation. 7

Still another object is'to'provide a block mold having a pan arrangement at its top and selfcontained vibratory means, the pan permitting cut-off of surplusmater'ial by means of, astraight edge member being passed over the'top of the moldiafter' the material'has'i been compacted by vibration. I I c Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of" the specification wherein detailed description is forthe purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention, without placing limitations on the scope of the-invention defined in the appended claim. I

Referring to the drawings, which are for "illustrative purposes only:

Fig. 1 is a front elevationalsection of apement block machine embodying the' features of the herein described invention; I

Fig. 2 iS a plan view (ifithemachinefas viewed from line 2--2 of Fig. l',.the 'pan l5ei ng removed; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional View, taken'substantially on line 3-'3*of Fig. 2'.

Referring to Fig. 1'of the' drawings;the-ma- 2 struction. For such purpose, channel members III- -ID are respectively supported on spaced apart elevating pedestal structures IIII, these channel members being in parallel relation and extending along therespective ends of the machine. E ach channel member I9 forms a plate or pad structure and has secured thereto in upstanding relation a pair of spaced coiled springs I2 and I2. The springs I2 at eachend of the machine cooperate to resiliently support a front channel rail I3, and the springsfI'Z" cooperate to support a rear channel rail I3.

A box-like mold is positioned between the channel rails I3 and I3", this mold being" composed of a forward wall I4, a rear wall I4, and end walls I5 and I5 having their uppermost 'edgeslying in a plane which is slightly spaced above-the plane of the upper surfaces of the channels I3 and I3. The mold is secured at its corners to the channel rails I3 and I3" by means of angle frame members I6 which may be fastened by welding or other suitable means and which depend below the mold to form a downwardly projecting frame work. The angle frame members I6 at each end of the mold are connected at their lowermost. ends to a transversely extending channelmember I! in each case, theychannels I! being interconnected adjacent theircentral portions by spaced apart angle members I8--I 8 as shown'in Fig. 3.

Referring again to Figs. 1 and 2 the end walls I5 and I5" are reenforced alongtheir lowermost edges by angle members I9'-I9, these angle members being interconnected by spaced apart longitudinally extending angle members 2020 secured at their ends by bolts or screws ZI to the angle members I9. The anglemembers 2020' provide a supportifor spaced upwardly projecting coremembers 22 22 of hollow construction closed at their uppermost ends and of substantially rectangular transverse configura tion. These core members are secured at their lowermost open ends to the angle members '2020 so that they are in" fixed relation to the walls" of the mold.

The botto'mof the mold is closed by a movably' supported structure which may be raised and lowered for the purposes'to be hereinafter explained. The bottom structure comprises a pair of longitudinally extending side" rails 2323 of angle iron which extend along the inner "an: elevating frame structure of suitabl con front and inner rear of the mold and which are interconnected intermediate their ends by an I -shaped plate member 24 which is connected at its respective ends to'the side rails 23 23 as simple means for obtaining 3 by screws 25. The uppermost flanges of the side rails 23-23 are further interconnected by transversely extending bars 25', one of these bars extending between the core parts 22-22 and another bar being extended between each end of the mold and the adjacently disposed core part so as to form a supporting rack upon which a pallet frame 26 may be supported. This pallet is apertured with openings 2'l--2'| so as to permit passage over the core parts 22-22.

Downward movement of the bottom structure is limited by contact of plate 24 against the upper flanges of angle members 20-20. Provision is made for raising and lowering the bottom structure. This is accomplished by providing a rod 28 which is connected at its uppermost end to the central portion of the plate member 24 so as to vertically depend therefrom. This rod is supported for axial vertical movement in a suitable bearing 29 supported on the spaced angle members Iii-l8, as shown in Fig. 3.

The lowermost end of the rod 28 has mounted therein a rotatable pulley 30 over which a flexible cable 3| is trained. One end of this cable is anchored as indicated at 32; whereas, the other end of the cable is trained over and windable upon a winding drum 33 having a crank handle 34 by means of which the winding drum may be actuated to manually wind and unwind the cable thereon. It will be apparent that as the cable is wound onto the drum, the portion passing over the pulley 30 will be tightened, with the result that therod 28 will be moved upwardly and raise the bottom structure within the mold. Unwinding of the cable will act to lower the bottom structure.

As shown in Figs. .1 and 3, a shaft 35, which is disposed at right angles to the rod 28 and offset to one side thereof, is rotatably mounted in spaced bearings 36-36 secured to and supported upon the uppermost flanges of the previously channel members 11-41. This shaft mentioned thereon for rotation therehas fixedly mounted with a driving pulley 31 which may be connected as by a flexible belt to a suitable power source such as an electric motor (not shown). This shaft has secured to it a pair of cable clamps 3838 which are shown as being similarly spaced from the center of the shaft 35, but which have their corresponding axes disposed in 90 relation as shown in Fig. 3. The purpose of these clamps is to provide weights having their center of gravity off-set with respect to the shaft so as to provide weight members which are eccentrically disposed and which will produce vibratory motion of the connected frame structure when the shaft 35 is rotated. It will be appreciated that other weight arrangements may be utilized, if desired, the cable clamps, however, providing a the desired results, and also permitting easy adjustment of the weights to secure varied types of vibrations.

In order to protect the shaft 35 and the bearings in which it is mounted from moldable material which may pass through the bottom structure of the mold, a protective pan or shield 39 is mounted between the shaft and the mold. This shield, as shown in Fig. 3, is inclined downwardly from the rear to forward side of the machine and may be secured at its side margins by screws 40 to the adjacent flanges of corner angle frame members 16. The shield has an opening 4| therein for passage of the rod 28.

At the uppermost end of the mold, there is further provided a shallow pan 42 which is provided with a bottom of greater area than the mold. This bottom is provided with an opening 43 of such size and configuration as to permit the slightly projecting upper end edge margin of the mold walls to pass thereinto, when the pan is supported on the front and rear channel rails i3'--l3". The pan is open along one edge and is constructed so as to have slightly greater depth along its rear portion than along its forward open edge.

The structural details of the invention havin been explained, the operation will now be briefly described. At the beginning of a molding operation, the bottom structure is in lowered position, as shown in Fig. l, with a pallet 25 disposed on the top of the bars 25', this pallet in effect forming the bottom mold member. A quantity of moldable material such as a mixture of cement and stone is poured into the mold, or into the pan 42, the amount being slightly more than actually required for the completed block.

Having thus filled the mold with the surplus extending into the panportion, the power source for driving the pulley 31 is energized, whereupon rotation of the shaft 35 will set up a vibratory movement of the machine, since the unit is supported on the coiled springs I2 and 12''. This vibratory or shaking movement will act to compact and shake the moldable material into the mold where it will be conformed around the core members. After the shaking or vibratory operation, a straight edge is raked across the upper edge of the mold from front to back so as to carry the surplus material into the rear portion of the pan 42 where it may be deposited until the molding of the next block when it may be combined with the material used at that time.

The rotation of shaft 35 is now interrupted by shutting down the power means or by utilization of a suitable clutch. Hand operation of the crank 34 by turning it in a clockwise direction will actuate the winding drum so as to wind the flexible cable 3| thereon. This action will cause the rod 28 to move upwardly and raise the completed block to a position in the pan 42, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. In such position, the operator may grasp the pallet and carry it with the block thereon to a location where the block is to be cured and permitted to harden.

By winding the handle 34 in a counterclockwise direction, the bottom structure may again be lowered into the mold, and as soon as another pallet is inserted the same procedure may be followed in molding the next block.

The pallet frame 26, as previously described, will be of appropriate size, depending upon the size of block to be molded and should be so proportioned that it will move up and down within the mold around the cores. It is not desired to limit the construction of this pallet as to the type of material used, and it is contemplated that the pallet may be constructed of cast metal, welded steel, or wood of single piece or plywood construction, and that when wood is utilized, the component parts of the pallet may be nailed, glued or otherw se suitably secured together,

I flaligm as my invention:

9 molding apparatus, comprisin offilde a a pan supported on the t p :f 52;; R1118 havlng an pening in its bottom; a frame structure depend gly supported from said side rails; a block mold carried by the frame structure and positioned below said pan to r i moldable material through the pan opening; block e ector means carried by said frame structu f l mg the block from th re 01 e mold through said opening, and including an operating rod supported for guided vertical reciprocable movements; flexible means for actuating said rod; an eccentric weight supported on said frame for rotation to impart a vibratory motion to the entire assembled frame structure, side rails, and associated parts of the apparatus as a unit; and springs at the ends of said rails resiliently supporting the unitary assembly for universal movement.

FERRISS E. ASBELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name 7 Date Erickson Mar.'31, 1925 Ransohoff Nov. 15, 1927 Shakespeare July 8, 1930 Welkiitz Jan. 20, 1942 Krehbiel et al. Dec. 1, 1942 Wellnitz Jan. 12, 1943 Lindkvist Sept. 3, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Dec. 22, 1921 

